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Samudra (समुद्र) is a Sanskrit term for "ocean", literally the "gathering together of waters" (''-'' meaning "together" and ''-udra'' meaning "water". Dictionary meaning of samudra is ‘confluence’ and ‘ocean/sea’.〔M.Mayrhofer EWA (1996)〕 Modern Indo-Aryan languages word for "ocean" is descended from the term, including Hindi समन्दर and Urdu سمندر ''samandar'', Bengali সমুদ্র ''shômudrô'', Gujarati સમંદર ''samandar'', Marathi and Nepali समुद्र ''samudra'', Punjabi ਸਮੁੰਦਰ ''samuṃdar'', and Sinhalese මුහුද ''muhuda'', and the word has also been borrowed to other languages influenced by Sanskrit, including Kannada ಸಮುದ್ರ ''samudra'', Malayalam സമുദ്രം ''samudraṁ'', Telugu సముద్ర ''samudra'', Burmese သမုဒ္ဒရာ ''samuddara'', Thai สมุทร ''sàmùt'', Khmer សមុទ្រ ''samout'', Lao ມະຫາສະຫມຸດ ''mahasamud'', and Malay ''samudra''. == Samudra in the Rigveda == The term occurs 133 times in the Rigveda, referring to oceans (real, mythical or figurative) or large bodies of water as well as to large Soma vessels, e.g. RV 6.69.6 (trans. Griffith): :''Strengthened with sacred offerings, Indra-Visnu, first eaters, served with worship and oblation,'' :''Fed with the holy oil, vouchsafe us riches; ye are the lake ''()'', the vat that holds the Soma.'' The precise semantic field of the Vedic word is difficult to establish, and has been much debated, in particular in relation to the question whether the bearers of the Rigvedic culture had direct knowledge of the ocean. Apart from the question of direct acquaintance of the bearers of Vedic culture with the ocean in the modern sense of the word, it is generally accepted that their worldview had the world encircled by oceans, a feature likely inherited from Proto-Indo-European mythology, with a "heavenly ocean" above the world, and a subterranean ocean of the underworld. Varuna was the deity presiding over both these oceans, and over water in general. From the literal meaning of the term, "Any mass of water more than one drop could be ''sam-udra'': water in a jar, a small pool, a large lake, or the sea".〔 *〕 And indeed there are symbolic identifications of small quantities of water with mythical oceans, for example in the famous hymn to Varuna, emphasizing Varuna's omnipresence in every drop of water (AVS 4.16.3 cd) :' :"even the two oceans (''samudrau'') are the thighs of Varuna; even in this minute drop of water (''udake'') he is hidden". The oldest vedic commentators like the Brihaddevata of Shaunaka, Nighantu and the Nirukta of Yaska interpret the term Samudra as "ocean". The scholar G.V. Davane studied the occurrences of the term samudra in the ''Rigveda'' and concluded that the term means "terrestrial ocean".〔(Davane, G. V. 1982. ''An Analytical Study of ‘Samudra’ in the'' Rigveda.)〕 The ''Rigveda'' also speaks of a western and eastern Samudra (10.136.5-6). And in RV 7.6.7 there is an upper and a lower Samudra, where the upper Samudra seems to be a heavenly ocean. The Maruts "uplift from the ocean the rain, and fraught with vaporous moisture pour the torrents down" in RV 5.55.5. In RV 9.84.4 the moon (Soma) and the winds stir the Samudra. Additionally, RV 1.48.3 may indicate knowledge of the high tide.〔R. C. Majumdar and A. D. Pusalker (editors): The History and Culture of the Indian People. Volume I, The Vedic age. Bombay : Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan 1951, p.248〕 In RV 1.116.4 the Asvins rescued Bhujyu by carrying him for three days and three nights to the sea's farther shore. Thus Samudra seems to refer to the ocean in this verse. There are many other verses in the Rig Veda which refer to this tale (e.g. RV 1.118.6; VI 62, 6; VII 69, 7; VIII 5, 22), and where consequently Samudra could be identified with the ocean as well.〔(Kazanas 2002)〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Samudra」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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